I still believe it to be well advised to take early morning trains when possible, as they allow more time to find one's accommodations at the destination, all more time to deal with unexpected frustrations (delays, canceled trains, getting lost, missing trains) and typically i have trouble sleeping the night before I travel regardless, so I might as well just catch up on the train. But still, waking up Monday morning in time to catch my 7:30 a.m. train to San Sebastian, Spain was rough, even after a very mellow night. It was a good thing that I left early, as I got slightly lost on the metro before getting to Estacio Sants.
I had had no intention at the beginning of my trip to go to San Sebastian. It was only because I had a few days to kill before visiting family in Provence, and that I had decided semi-last minute to go to Barcelona, that an easy to navigate, small city in Basque country was considered by me. I had been told good things about it though, and had read favorable accounts of the place, and it looked not so far on the map from my destination in France (it ended up being far, actually).
The hostel at which I stayed in San Sebastian, Urban House, was by far the best hostel of the trip, and easily among the best of those I stayed on my previous trip. Here are the reasons why:
1. Located right in the middle of where everything is happening in the city. Almost every pintxos (Basque tapas) place or bar I was recommended, as well as both beaches, were within very short walks of the hostel.
2. Friendly staff. At least most of the time. Upon my arrival, I asked the girl showing me to my room where I could go to get a bite to eat. Instead of asking me what I was in the mood for (which is my least favorite response when I ask someone this question -- if I knew what i was in the mood for I would have put it into the question), or telling me that the hostel sold food, she said "oh, i'm walking over to ___ (forgot the name) to pick up a sandwich, why don't you come?" That's friendly service.
3. The hostel made the beds every night. Stayokay in Netherlands was probably a little "nicer" but I did not enjoy one bit attempting to make a bed on a top bunk.
4. Bathroom/shower not in the room. Actually a plus for hostels. Means you don't have to stumble around in the dark while other people are sleeping to use it at night, and actually means more privacy.
5. Good music playing loudly in the lobby throughout the day (Broken Bells was playing when I got there).
6. Free, fast, internet access with a short wait in the lobby. No codes, no attitude about using it, no paying 3 euro per hour.
7. Flexible attitude. As we will later learn, my last night in San Sebastian I opted to not sleep, and catch an early train. They let me keep my bags in the lobby until 5 a.m. when i left like any other paying guest.
8. I didn't see any families! What was up with the Stayokay hostels being full of families!
9. Hostel events every night out in San Sebastian. Big plus for solo traveler, allows opportunity to meet people, and not wander around aimlessly.
10. Surprisingly clean considering the fairly lax attitude of the staff.
When I checked in, I was dripping with sweat. Despite google maps on my phone, and the hostel being located on the main street, I couldn't find the street sign and had some trouble finding it. Also, the weather was great, sunny, but this is not great for carrying a heavy bag. I was shown to my room (top bunk AGAIN), walked with the Swedish employee to the local restaurant to pick up a chicken sandwich (during this walk I learned that people over the age of 21 actually drink calimocho (wine/coca cola mixture -- surprisingly good despite how it sounds), and that it is served in bars there). Walked back to the hostel and ate lunch with some of the employees (this part wasn't that fun, i didn't do a whole lot of talking).
Took off my shoes, put on flip flops and shorts and headed out to the La Concha and Ondaretta beaches. These were very nice beaches, much better than those in northern Europe, or even Los Angeles. Protected by a relatively small bay, the water is relatively calm, but still some activity, and warm, even by my standards (I think everything is cold). I'm still not accustomed to the topless female bathers, but I think I would be dishonest were I not to acknowledge this as a good thing about the beaches in Spain, at least for most of the time. Because I didn't feel comfortable leaving my stuff on the beach while going into the water, I walked along the beaches until the end.
Then walked up a fairly steep twisty road to the top of Mt. Igeldo. At the summit was located a pretty crappy amusement park, but a fantastic view of the city. Look!:
I decided not to walk down the mountain because my feet hurt from walking in flip flops -- how the heck do you guys all seem to walk around in flips flops all day long without getting sores on the tops of your feet from where the straps cut into the skin???? I took the funicula down, and a couple sitting next to me was making out.
Walked BACK across the beach, back to the hostel and took a siesta and blackberry recharge break, and woke up in time for the Pintxos Tour organized by the hostel. This event was ridiculous, and very fun, and I'm probably not going to go into all the details. As I said before, "pintxo" appears to just be the Basque word for Spanish tapas. According to the guide, they are "completely different" from Spanish tapas, and that in comparison Spanish tapas are crappy. I think he far overstated that point, but admittedly the pintxos in San Sebastian were some of the best tapas I've had. The tour would be of various pintxos bars in the city.
The tour began in front of the San Sebastian basilica. The tour guide was a Mexican guy working at the hostel, and the group was about 15 Australians and me. From the very beginning, I knew it would be a silly tour, as the guide was already listing on his feet (I learned later that he had been drinking vodka all afternoon with his friends), and his recount of this history of San Sebastian very much reminded me of this. The first stop was a bar called Atari, where, courtesy of the hostel we were given glasses of sagardoa (Basque apple cider). Traditionally (for good reason or not), this cider is poured from a great height into the glass in very small amounts, which are meant to be consumed quickly (as opposed to most other ciders I have had, which are poured out all at once and then sipped slowly-ish). We were left to our own devices to try the variety of pintxos (mostly different types of meat or fish or seafood arranged creatively on a small piece of French bread), and txakoli, a Basque white wine, slightly carbonated, a little bit less strong than regular sparkling wine, very delicious in my opinion, also poured from a height in small quantities. Most of the Australians didn't like the saradoa and txakoli as much as I did, and soon began opting for beer or requesting sangria.
I should note, that the guide, who was already listing at the beginning of the tour, was keeping up with the rest of the group, although still offering helpful guidance as to the various foods we were eating.
From here, he walked us to several other places, were we tried many more of the pintxos (I ate something which was apparently a big cluster of hake eggs, but am still not exactly sure what it was), until we realized that he was missing.
From here, a girl who had been acting as a tour guide for the Australians kind of took over and brought us to another bar. The movie Rocky IV was playing on a tv. Fun place.
Later moved to a more dancy place called Be Bop, with M, one of the Australian guys I met at the hostel, also traveling solo. Music playing was quite good, better than I have heard "out" in a while, and much of the crowd was foreign. Was talking to some Irish people, one an equally devoted Leonard Cohen fan. Somehow made conversation with some French guys who really wanted to talk despite knowing almost no English and I knowing no French.
R.E.M. -- Departure
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